


Fanworks

by Spirit126



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), DCU (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5166479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spirit126/pseuds/Spirit126
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collecting of my works as I produce them. Most will probably center around the Superman and Batman families. Unless otherwise stated each chapter is its own standalone work. Some may be continuations of previous chapters, but I'll let you know beforehand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Terminal (TimxKara Family Reunion AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newlyweds Bruce and Clark are throwing a family Christmas party and everyone is invited. Kara couldn’t make the wedding, but she’s determined to show up at the party. Too bad it’s snowing and her plane from New York City to Gotham is delayed until the storm passes. Stuck in an airport terminal on Christmas Eve, Kara decides to make the best of her time and chat with the cute guy sitting two seats down from her.
> 
> This will probably end up being multiple chapters combining these prompts:  
> met at a family reunion but not related to each other AU  
> nervous flyer and random seat mate AU

Kara sighed and resigned herself to a miserable night sleeping in an airport terminal. How typical of her luck. One of the only nights she managed to convince Cat to let her go early, and her time was wasted waiting for a storm to pass. It wasn’t even snowing that hard – there were steady drifts of white falling from the sky, but it was hardly bad weather; certainly nothing that should keep such a short flight (less than an hour!) from going through as planned. She regretted not taking the direct flight from LA, even if it would have been five hours non-stop on a plane. She could have dealt with that… probably.

Another annoyingly cheerful bout of “Jingle Bell Rock” started up on the radio. Kara groaned and hung her head. When had she stepped into what felt like a terrible recreation of the Santa Clause movies?

A quiet snort came from her left. Kara risked a peek and spied a man sitting a couple seats down, a smirk curling his full lips as he quietly read a book. She wondered what he found so amusing, and then his eyes – an icy blue that put even hers to shame – flickered her way before he looked away. It took her a moment, but the truth did eventually dawn on Kara’s tired mind.

She sighed heavily. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

The man nodded as his smirk widened into a grin. It was then that Kara realized that he was actually pretty attractive – high cheekbones, clean-shaven and masculine jawline, long, soft-looking black hair, and what looked like a rather nice body hidden under a sweater and slacks. He wasn’t too buff but he looked far from wimpy. If anything he had the body of a gymnast – lean but strong. He was easily an eight or nine in Kara’s books, who never particularly enjoyed the jocks. Plus he was reading a book instead of playing with his phone – her inner nerd was swooning. Her conscious mind was socking itself in the face for looking so dumb in front of such an attractive man.

“Nothing like the holidays to bring out the crazies, I guess,” she muttered.

She really hadn’t meant for him to hear her, but the quiet chuckle told her he had. Kara couldn’t help the small smile that fought its way onto her face. He had a really nice laugh – warm and throaty. She caught herself thinking of her last boyfriend, Roy, who had laughed the same way. Lord knows how that relationship ended – not good, and that was saying it nicely. She didn’t particularly feel like thinking about him right now.

“Going somewhere for the holidays or heading home?” The man asked suddenly.

Kara blinked; mildly surprised he was actually talking to her. Most people liked to pretend they were alone in an airport terminal; especially when weird girls started talking out of nowhere.

Mr. Hot-and-Chatty looked at her strangely and she realized he was still waiting for an answer. Her face felt like fire as she scrambled to answer, fully aware of how ditsy she must appear to someone like him. She was probably turning five different shades of red at this point, but if she was he didn’t say anything. At least it matched her dress.

“Uh, both I guess?” 

He furrowed his brows, managing to look both confused and gorgeous in the same instance. Kara cursed her terrible luck that when she looked confused she tended to scare people off. The world really wasn’t fair sometimes.

“W-well it’s like this: my cousin got married a few months ago to his longtime boyfriend and I couldn’t manage to make it to the wedding. My boss just really wouldn’t let me go, and my cousin was really great about it and very understanding, so I want to make it this time. Anyway, he and his husband are throwing a Christmas party today and they both invited their families. So I’ll be seeing my family and everything, but I’ve never been to his husbands uh… house. Doesn’t matter either way, because I’m running ridiculously late and by the time I get there the party will be pretty much over. My cousin will be disappointed, I know, and I hate to make a bad impression with his husband. He’s some of the only family I’ve got left, you know? I don’t want to embarrass him in front of his husband’s side of the family, but I guess that’s already a done deal. I’m going to end up crashing the party or something…”

Her bench-mate chuckled again with a strangely happy grin on his face. Kara realized a little too late she was babbling and had probably embarrassed herself yet again. She had a terrible tendency to do that, especially around attractive men. She would probably be better off not talking at all. Maybe she should learn sign language and save herself the mortification… nevermind, she would probably end up flipping someone off without meaning to.

“I’m glad to know I’m not the only one running late,” he confessed easily. “I got held up in a meeting and missed my original plane. I would have missed the delay if I had gotten to the airport on time. Then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” The way he smiled at her left her feeling breathless and giddy with excitement. Nevermind her face felt like a fire had been lit under her cheeks – a man who wasn’t an asshole or twice her age was flirting with her. That hadn’t happened since... well; she would say too long and leave it at that. “What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Kara almost smacked herself across the face. “Right – manners are a thing. Ma and Clark would kill me if they knew I forgot them. My name is Kara,” She held out her hand, hoping he didn’t notice it trembling. “Nice to meet you,”

He engulfed her hand in his much larger, warmer one. The confused look had returned to his face, but there was a bit of something else underneath that almost made him look sly as he shook her hand firmly. “Tim. I heard you say Clark; you don’t happen to mean Clark Kent, do you?”

Kara had a brief thought of “oh god, I’ve met an incredibly hot stalker and I’m about to be murdered,” before her rational mind caught up with the rest of her. “Yes,” she said slowly, “Clark Kent is the cousin I mentioned before. I’m heading out to see him and his husband, Bruce-”

“Wayne,” Tim finished for her. She could feel the confused stare she was sending him, which really spoke to how weird she must look right now. Tim sighed and looked at her apologetically as he explained, “Bruce is my adopted father. It seems we’re heading to the same place.”

Kara just wanted to curl up into a ball and die of mortification. Here she was trying to head out and see her cousin for the first time in months, but along the way she decided to make eyes at his new step-son while waiting for a plane. It was Just. Her. Luck.

Just then the terminal’s PA system kicked on and cheerily announced, “Attention passengers of flight 735 to Gotham City – due to clearer weather conditions the flight has been resumed and will take off in one hour. Thank you for your patience.”

This Christmas was going to suck. She could feel it in her bones.


	2. Sugar We're Goin' Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a series that will eventually be Tim/Kara/Jason, but it can be read on its own.
> 
> Kara finds herself in her apartment with the man she was not expecting after mysteriously passing out during a rescue. Can she resist her visitor, especially when he's someone she's been wanting for a long time? Does she even want to?

New York was Supergirl’s city. She made sure everyone knew that within just a couple weeks of her moving to the Big Apple. She was almost as territorial as Batman, and he growled at anyone who dared to even approach Gotham. The last person who had stepped foot in New York without her express permission had been Superman, and he had been politely but firmly asked to leave. Everybody knew to leave any business in New York to Supergirl, or be facing down her fist shortly thereafter. Even Tim double checked with Kara before daring to step foot anywhere near her turf.

So why did Kara have the distinct feeling that not only was somebody in her city, but they were also in her apartment?

She couldn’t remember much. The image of an apartment building in one of the lower-income areas going up in flames passed through her mind, but she couldn’t summon the how or why. There had been a lot of people on the street, screaming for her to help. She had entered the building, fully intending to save a young boy trapped inside. The flames were spreading fast, the smoke choking off the air and making it hard to see, much less breathe, and…

Had she gotten to the boy in time? She couldn’t remember. She remembered finding him in a corner apartment, tucked into the only room not engulfed in flames. He had reached for her, begging her to save him as the building rumbled around them. She picked him up, but there was a deafening roar from above and then – 

Nothing; everything blanked out after that. She wasn’t sure where the boy was or if he had survived. How had she even gotten to her apartment? 

Kara sat up, groggy. She hadn’t felt this messed up since… well, since Krypton. Certainly not since coming to Earth – the yellow sunlight pretty much assured she was immune to almost everything that could come her way. Yet here she was, aching all over and feeling like she had drank an entire bottle of her father’s wine by herself. Rao, what had happened to her?

At the very least she was in her uniform, minus her boots and cape. Those were across the room, neatly perched on her desk. Someone had even taken the time to fold her cape for her. She wondered if it had been Tim. It was something he would do.

Her entire uniform carried the faint smell of smoke and gasoline. Kara decided it was the results of the fire and it was probably nothing to worry about. She could just wash it later. Tim had taken pity on her and bought her a washer and dryer, pretty much ending her need to visit the 24-hour laundry mat down the street. Most of the time she had to go in the middle of the night to avoid people asking questions, like why she was carrying around Supergirl’s uniform.

The faint smell of eggs and bacon reached her from the kitchen and Kara was surprised to hear her stomach growl. It had been a long time since she was truly hungry. She wondered how long she had been out.

She looked out her window, surprised to see the sun setting over the skyline. When she had responded to the fire it had been barely past mid-morning, not even lunchtime. She was out for hours, apparently.

Things were getting stranger and stranger, apparently.

Her stomach growled again, reminding her that she had a boyfriend in her kitchen making her food (strange again, because Tim couldn’t cook for his life if it wasn’t curry) who most likely had all the answers to her questions. And maybe even a kiss to make her feel better? Tim did say she was adorable when she was confused.

She grinned to herself and used her super speed to change out of her uniform and into some shorts and a loose tank; best to go for the casual look. Didn’t want to make any assumptions, now did she?  
She sped out the door and down the hall, eager to see him for the first time in weeks.

“Alright Boyfriend – you’ve got some explaining to do,” she called as she turned the corner.

She froze in the doorway.

The man standing in front of her stove was not in fact Tim Drake, but he was a Bat. Jason Todd smirked at her lazily as he scraped the bottom of a pan of scrambled eggs that smelled heavenly. He also kept an eye on a pan of bacon sizzling away beside him, pausing every now and then to flip a piece to make sure it crisped on both sides. He looked far, far too comfortable in her apartment, especially considering his idea of clothes was a pair of pants and not much else. Her eyes lingered on his scar-covered chest and abs, drinking in the copious amount of muscles that Tim lacked. What could she say? Jason was gorgeous.

He caught her looking and his smirk transformed into an all-out, wicked grin. Kara felt the bottom of her stomach fall out, but it was in a good way. A good “I’ve-had-a-raging-crush-on-this-man-for-years-oh-my-god” way. Yup, she was screwed.

“Alright Girlfriend, but let me finish the food first. I’m starving and you lack pretty much anything edible around here.”

Kara gulped as the way he said “girlfriend” did funny things to her. Things she had once thought only Tim could do - things that were very not good for her sanity.  
“Y-yeah… never learned to cook,” she mumbled in answer.

Jason arched a brow, the grin still fixed to his face. There was a laugh buried in his voice somewhere as he said, “And you’re with Tim? Jesus, who feeds you guys if you never learned and he can’t cook for shit?”

Kara shrugged and might have mumbled something about takeout, but she was too focused on what was going on in front of her to be sure. Specifically, she was busy freaking out about the fact that Jason Todd was standing in her kitchen, half naked and making her food. She had either died and gone to heaven, or died and gone to a hell centered on seeing but not touching such a perfect specimen of the male form. Either way – screwed. 

They stood in silence for nearly a minute, caught in an endless cycle of Jason watching her watch him make food. Kara realized that she should probably be embarrassed – both for calling him boyfriend and for openly ogling him – but the way Jason kept sending her little smirks and encouraging looks? She really didn’t think he cared too much; or at all.  
Finally Jason broke the silence that had descended over the kitchen by holding out her one metal spoon and waving it towards her cabinets, saying, “Get some plates or this’ll burn.”

Kara scrambled to do as he said her face heating up to a thousand degrees the moment his eyes were off her. Her mind was screaming that there was seriously something up here – like why he was standing in her kitchen shirtless, why she couldn’t remember hours of time, and why in the world he was taking care of her. What was going on?

Kara handed the plates to him without looking at him, earning herself a quiet chuckle. Her face heated up a couple more degrees and she scolded herself silently. Think of Tim, she told herself firmly, how would he feel about this?

Probably the same way she felt about Lynx. Or at least that was how she hoped he would feel. If he didn’t get that same sick feeling in his stomach knowing she was thinking about someone else in that way… what was the point of even claiming they were still together? Might as well cut ties before they got too involved and it hurt even more.

“Here,” Jason shoved a plate piled high with bacon and eggs into her hands, cutting off the depressing trail of thoughts abruptly, “Your stomach is growling like Bruce after a run in with the Joker. Trust me, it’s not pretty.”

Kara took the plate and followed Jason to her small dining room table. Before she could even make sense of what was happening she had sat down and watched him pour her a glass of orange juice from a jug she did not remember having this morning. She thanked him as he dropped it next to her plate before pouring himself a glass. He shrugged her off and took a seat across from her, his large frame nearly dwarfing the small table. Despite the fact that he still lacked a shirt and was now eating eggs like a normal human being, he still had the an air of intimidation around him that rivaled Bruce. It sent a shiver down her spine, especially when he looked up at her through his lashes and pierced her with his green eyes. Rao, but he was handsome.

“You eating or not?”

Kara blinked, surprised. “Huh?”

Jason pointed to her plate with his fork, emphasizing the fact that while hers was full his was half empty already. “Are you eating that or are you just going to continue staring at me like the table is going to disappear in the next couple seconds?” The smirk was back on his face, wider and cockier than ever.

Another shiver raced down her spine and settled low in her stomach, leaving her feeling hot and cold at the same time. Kara prayed her face wasn’t turning red again, but by the way Jason’s smirk only grew she knew it was a futile hope. How in the world could this man leave her feeling so flustered? In her own home, no less. Not even Tim could manage that so effortlessly.

She picked up her fork and scooped some eggs into her mouth without looking at him. She almost had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning, because the eggs were easily some of the best she had ever had in her entire time on Earth. They certainly weren’t here favorite food, but Jason made them perfectly.

“Like them?” This time Jason almost looked proud when she took the risk and looked his way. She nodded, sparing herself the embarrassment of talking by quickly taking another bite. He grinned with the enthusiasm of a child. “Good. Alfred taught me how to make them. Nobody else in the family even comes close, not even Cass.”

That sounded suspiciously like bragging, but she wasn’t going to call him on it. That required she have the ability to talk, and she wasn’t quite sure she could manage that at this point. She was still stuck on the fact that she was insanely attracted to the man sitting in front of her while simultaneously arguing with herself on why she shouldn’t be. Focusing on any one thing aside from his nearly perfect abs was proving a bit hard at this point.

Jason cleared off the rest of his plate before she was even a quarter of the way through hers. Once he was done he took his dishes to the sink and washed them and the dishes he had used to cook. Kara was just finishing her meal by the time he put everything on the drying rack, and she wasted no time in taking her dishes to the sink and following his lead. Once everything was cleared away and she returned to the table she had managed to center herself and get over her silly attraction. Now she was all about business.

She dropped into her seat and watched Jason pull a packet of cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He held them up and asked, “You mind?”

It wasn’t like they could hurt her, so Kara shook her head and watched him pull one out. The packet disappeared as stuck a cigarette between his lips, using his free hand to strike the lighter. It lit in one move and Jason had his cigarette burning in only seconds, tucking the lighter back into his pocket as he eyed her across the table. The scent of tobacco permeated the apartment as Jason exhaled a cloud of smoke between them.

“So,” he began at last, “Someone’s confused, huh?”

“What do you think?” Kara asked challengingly.

Jason just smirked again. He did that a lot, apparently, which was unfortunate because he looked so good doing it. Kara’s fists clenched in her lap as she tried to remember why she was sitting across from him, letting him smoke in her apartment. She needed answers, damnit, not butterflies.

“You’ve been out for a couple hours,” Jason stated.

“Why? What happened?”

He shrugged, a bored look coming over his face. Kara had to resist the urge to shake him. “Not sure,” he said.

She scoffed. “What do you mean you’re not sure!? If you’re not sure what happened to me, then how did you get me back here? How did you even find me?”

Jason growled and slammed his fist on her table, an effective way of shutting her up. She glared at him angrily, a simmering irritation on behalf of both herself and her furniture. Who the hell gave him the right to abuse her stuff like that?

“I don’t know what happened to you,” Jason snarled, “All I know is when I got to the fire you were passed out on the street and paramedics were trying to help you, but nothing was working. I said I knew what to do and I took you and brought you back here, got you comfortable, and made food. End of story.”

Strangely enough, she believed him. Maybe it was the fact that he had taken the time to help her, or maybe it was the fact that he was a Bat; either way it didn’t matter – she trusted him. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t suspicious of him.

“What were you doing in my city, anyway?” she grumbled as she slouched in her chair.

That seemed to perk Jason right up, as she leaned back in his chair and resumed smirking at her like the cat that caught the canary. He took another drag of his cigarette and held the smoke for a few beats of her heart before letting it go, sending a white trail towards her ceiling. Kara waited while he organized his thoughts, knowing it was only fair for all the patience he showed her tonight. He has certainly been much nicer than he had to be.

“What’s going on between you and the Replacement?” He asked out of the blue.

That… was not what she was expecting. A job maybe, but her love life? She almost wanted to look for cameras, half suspicious she was being tricked.

“Excuse me?”

Jason arched a brow. “You and Replacement – what’s the situation? Last I heard you two were making Dick look like a nun with how down and dirty you were getting. In some decently public places, no less; never thought I’d hear that about either of you, honestly.”

Kara was at a loss for words. Was Jason Todd seriously asking about her relationship with his brother? Since when did he even care?

“That’s none of your business, actually,” she managed to get out.

Jason leaned forward and flicked the stub of his cigarette into a corner, not caring where it landed. She would punch him for that later.

“Actually, it is,” he said almost gleefully. “Family business and all that – we need to know if little Timmy managed to piss of his super powered girlfriend so we know if he needs his ass saved. So… What. Is. Going. On?”

She would have bought the whole family business shtick if not for the predatory look in his eyes. The way he was looking at her nearly put her earlier behavior to shame. Her heart fluttered and then started pounding in her chest as she realized she could feel his breath washing over her lips, smell the smoke still lingering there, mixing with the remains of their impromptu dinner. He was close and getting closer.

“Why do you want to know,” she whispered. 

If she talked louder the spell would be broken and Jason would leave. She didn’t want him to leave.

“Like I said, family-“

“No,” she cut him off, almost desperate for an answer, “Why do you want to know?”

Jason stared at her for a moment, his eyes growing darker with each breath. Then his lips curled in something that wasn’t quite a smirk, but it wasn’t a smile either. It was much darker, full of something that hadn’t been aimed her way in months. Something she hadn’t even realized she missed until now.

“I have my reasons,” he answered, also whispering, “Now what’s going on? Did you two break up?”

Kara swallowed against her suddenly dry mouth and shook her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. Jason’s eyes darkened a bit more, but there was wariness to them that she didn’t know how to interpret.

“Momentarily separated?” 

Again, she shook her head. Her tongue darted out between her lips to wet them, and she was thrilled to see Jason’s eyes follow its path before snapping back to her face.

“Then why was he sucking faces with Lynx a couple days back? You were aware of that, right?”

She was, but she hardly wanted the reminder. She gritted her teeth in irritation and nodded, forcing thoughts of Tim out of her mind for the first time that night. Tim wasn’t here right now. Jason was, and he was showing more interest than Tim had in a long time.

“Then what is it,” Jason mumbled, almost delirious. 

His eyes were so dark they edged on emerald. Kara took a deep, subtle breath and nearly whimpered when she smelled the arousal heavy in the air. Rao forgive her, but she needed this so bad right now. She needed to make herself feel better.

“We’re exploring an open relationship right now,” she said. “Tim’s off doing his own thing and I’m here, doing mine.” She lowered her head and looked at him through her lashes, praying he got her message.

He certainly seemed to, as he tensed to the point of nearly freezing. Kara heard his heart rate skyrocket as the blood pounded through his veins. Another, heavier wave of arousal hit the air and nearly drowned her in its intensity.

Jason cleared his throat a couple times before he found the words he was looking for. The look he was giving her was smoldering, his eyes wide with fever and a hope she easily recognized. The hair on her neck stood on end as the knowledge sunk in at long last – Jason Todd wanted her, badly.

“And you’re… ah… okay with that?” He asked.

Kara grinned, suddenly confident now that the tables had been turned. Oh, how it felt nice to be the one being desired instead of the one desiring.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” she answered truthfully, “But I might be convinced otherwise. Care to give me a hand?”

Jason’s eyes widened further , impossible as that may seem. Kara held her breath. She was confident she had been right but wondered if he would back out at the last moment. She didn’t have to wait more than the span of a couple seconds before she got her answer.

“Fuck, yes,” Jason gasped.

He lunged across the table and dragged her in by the back of her neck, slamming his lips to hers with the brutal force he used for all things in life. Kara moaned as the taste of cigarettes and breakfast assaulted her mouth. It wasn’t the soft, gentle kisses Tim usually gave her. It wasn’t even the needy, desperate ones he sometimes had for her – this was wild, passionate, and nearly feral. It was exactly what Jason would be if somebody somehow found a way to distill his very essence into a kiss and decided to give it to her. It curled her toes and made the hot-cold feeling in her stomach explode across her body. Very few things felt so right to Kara, but this was one of them. Even as Jason pulled her onto the table and wrapped his hands around her hips to pull her even closer she felt completely at ease.

Rao forgive her, but she wasn’t stopping him for anything.


	3. Sunlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie spends some time thinking about Kara and love.

Stephanie can’t help but stare as sunlight spills through the window and lands on Kara’s sleeping form. The way it looks against her perfectly tanned skin takes Stephanie’s breath away. So does the brilliant gold of her hair, her cherry red lips, the rosy flush of her cheeks, those amazing blue eyes hiding behind lashes long and thick enough to make a model jealous – Kara’s face is a work of living art. Then again her body is also pretty amazing. Kara may not be particularly tall, but she’s well-proportioned with long limbs, nice curves, and a flat stomach. It’s all wrapped in golden skin as soft as silk and gloriously warm to the touch.

Kara is a vision of perfect female beauty – soft, warm, and so very pretty – and she’s all Stephanie’s.

She’s seen people look. Kara may act like she doesn’t notice, but Stephanie doesn’t see any way she can’t. A lot of people look. Tim looks, Jason looks, Damian looks, even Dick – and those are just her family. A lot of other people look, too, with a lot less respect to Stephanie’s place at Kara’s side. They can look all they want so long as they don’t try to take Kara away from her. She’s all over them if they even breathe a word of disrespect. Kara is hers and nobody is taking her away.

It’s more than just Kara’s looks that she clings to; it’s the beautiful soul that lights up her stunning face that really draws her in. Kara is so… joyful. Despite all the pain and all the sadness she has endured she finds a reason to smile every day, even if it’s something petty and stupid. She laughs like there’s nothing wrong with the world and jokes like they don’t risk their lives every day for people who won’t ever be grateful enough. Whenever she’s feeling wistful she takes Stephanie into the skies and dances with her over the lights of Gotham. She is energy, light, and motion, and she belongs to Stephanie just as much as Stephanie belongs to her. Kara is the sun that lights her life.

Someday one of them will have to leave. She knows it just as surely as she knows the sun will rise. One day one of them will go out to save someone and not come back. It’s a fact of their lives – it’s a price they all have to pay. Supergirl and Batgirl can’t skip being heroes just because Kara and Stephanie are afraid to lose one another. They already talked about it. There is no guarantee for tomorrow, so they have to make the best of each and every day. 

That is why she is sitting at the end of their bed and staring at her sleeping girlfriend. She is making the most of the morning sun and Kara’s beauty – she is forming a memory she can look back on or spend the last seconds of her life reliving. Kara does it too. She’s woken to her alien eyes studying her like puzzle, glowing in the morning sun and bursting with so much warmth and love. That one look holds more love than corny confession ever could. And she gets that look directed at her every day.

“You’re staring again.”

Kara opens her eyes and smiles. It’s beautiful and almost too perfect for words, but most importantly it’s meant just for her. Stephanie can’t help but smile back, because it feels wrong not to when Kara smiles like that.

“Can you blame me?” She asks.

Kara just giggles and opens her arms, inviting her in without a word. Stephanie isn’t willing to waste an opportunity, so she dives into the second most powerful arms in the world and snuggles close to warm skin and soft hair. Kara wraps her up tight and holds her close as she yawns in her ear and quickly falls back asleep.

This is a much better position, Stephanie thinks. It’s much easier to admire her from here.

Maybe she should get a few more hours of sleep. Who knew how long it would be before Supergirl or Batgirl got called for duty. She should make the most of the time she has. 

Stephanie closes her eyes and let the smell of sunlight and ozone lull her to sleep.


	4. Band Aid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A VERY short bit added for Jason/Kara. I'll probably edit this later and add another ficlet, but this has been bugging me since last night.

“Jason,”

There was the crinkle of paper as yet another bandage was opened. Kara tried not to groan as she watched Jason peel the protective film from the back before it joined the multitudes of others wrapped around her hands. They covered the numerous nicks and cuts she acquired in her fight with a low life thug who was lucky enough to catch her low on energy. Her hands came away looking like they lost a fight with a pile of glass, but the criminal? He was on the ground looking like he lost a fight with an angry gorilla. He also had a bullet in his leg courtesy of Red Hood, who was angry to find her bleeding and bruised.

“Jason,” she sighed as he pulled yet another band aid from his first aid kit. He grunted, focused on peeling off the paper without touching the gauze, just like Alfred taught him. “Jason this is completely unnecessary. You know I’ll heal by tomorrow.”

She tried not to wince when Jason wiped a slice on her thumb with an alcohol pad. The cuts didn’t even hurt that much anymore, but letting him do this seemed to calm him down somewhat. She was willing to tolerate the habit for Jason’s sake.

He wrapped the last bandage around her thumb and stuffed the paper in his pocket with rest as he said, “Then you can take them off tomorrow. Until then… I’ll be watching you.”

Kara sighed, rolled her eyes, and resigned herself to the fact she would be spending another night buried in Wonder Woman band aids.


	5. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short but sweet. It's another Tim/Kara (not one with their weird open-but-not-healthy relationship [they'll figure that one out, I promise...]), but what I believe would be a plausible situation between them. Enjoy!

Tim opened the heavy iron door leading to the roof carefully. An icy blast of mid-winter New York wind sliced through his many layers and chilled him instantly, but he steeled his nerves and stepped outside. The door swung shut behind him with a firm thud and click, the automatic lock engaging until he was ready to return. His eyes scanned the rooftop, searching piles of snow and ice for a spot of color. He found it sitting on the edge of the roof, back facing him and eyes staring out over a bay of rolling grey water. She had never looked so small and lonely, not even on the first night she had spent in the Tower. He sighed and trudged over to her, purposefully stepping on every bit of crunchy ice and snow he could find.

Kara hardly acknowledged him as he sat. Her greeting was a bleary-eyed, red-rimmed glance before her eyes strayed back to the bay. Tim let her have her silence. If Kara was anything even close to human – and he knew personally that she was – her world was trying to rebuild itself after being destroyed yet again. The ground had been ripped out from under her, so to speak, and Kara had to struggle to find her footing among the rubble. He didn’t envy her in the least.

They sat in silence for what might have been hours. Tim stared at the sky and pretended not to notice the silent tears rolling down Kara’s face. Kara watched waves crash against the distant shore and pondered how ironic the sight was. Today she felt like some defenseless debris caught up in the waves, dragged and tumbled along against her will before being crashed violently against a rocky shore. Everything hurt – her body, her head, but mostly her heart. She didn’t have a mark on her, but she had never felt worse except for the day she landed on Earth. Perhaps even then she had not felt quite so sore.

Another freezing wind crossed the rooftop. Tim shivered under his thermal suit and warm body armor, but Kara, who wore only a tank top and shorts, showed no sign of noticing the temperature. For a moment he envied the Kryptonians’ disregard for such trivial things as warmth. They could literally stand naked in a blizzard and be perfectly content. What he wouldn’t give to have that ability.

Warmth bloomed at Tim’s side and drew his surprised eyes away from the stars. Kara had moved closer without his notice and now sat close enough to share the lovely heat emanating from her skin. Kryptonians were compared to the sun for more than one reason, after all, and Kara was just as capable as her cousin in that respect. She leaned against him slowly, giving him a chance to pull away if he so desired. Tim remained where he was. Her head found his shoulder and she snuggled into the Kevlar plates like a cat cuddling a blanket. It couldn’t possibly be comfortable, but she seemed so honestly content that he didn’t dare disturb her. He knew how desperately she needed the contact.

A third blast of frigid air cut the air with its icy touch. Tim waited one moment and then two, and then he lifted his cape and wrapped it hesitantly around Kara’s shoulders, his arm lingering long past the appropriate time. Kara let out a heavy breath and inched closer, her arms sneaking around his waist and trapping him in an iron hold. Their closeness, the quiet solitude of the roof and Kara’s shuddering breaths served to embolden him more than months of careful interaction ever could. He turned his head and buried his nose in her golden hair, took a deep breath of its jasmine scent, and laid a numb kiss with cold, trembling lips.

“Give it time,” he whispered, “You’ll be okay.”


	6. The Silence of a Hopeful Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce has to make a hard decision that leaves him feeling less than a hero.

It was four in the morning and the Bat Cave was silent. Tim and Damian had gone to be an hour previously. Alfred was finishing up some work upstairs and would retire within the hour. Dick was out still, following a lead on their current case. Bruce was sitting at the main computer, screens lit and cowl down. He was tired, so tired. His body was begging him to go to bed and rest before he had to be up for a ten o’clock board meeting. It was his mind, however, that kept him frozen in his chair.

He had spent the last hour staring at three pictures. One was Roy Harper, A.K.A: Arsenal, the wayward apprentice of one Green Arrow. Ever since a falling out nearly five years ago Harper and Oliver Queen had gone their separate ways. Arsenal had been on his radar as a mercenary ever since, eventually making his way onto his watch list. His genius with engineering and invention along with his skills as a marksman made him a dangerous man. Letting him run around unchecked would be a foolish move and Bruce had absolutely no plans of making a mistake like that.

The next picture – and the one that caused him the most pain – was of his own son. Jason Todd (or the Red Hood was now known as) was a wanted criminal in many countries. Jason had died young and been resurrected by means of a Lazarus Pit, which had warped his mind and psyche. He was highly trained in many fields that ranged from hand-to-hand combat to espionage. Bruce had once been proud of Jason’s skills as a fighter – he was one of the best in the entire field – but now he regretted them. The same skills Bruce had taught his son in order to survive were being used to kill. Worse, Jason was using them to lead others into doing his dirty work with him. And it was all Bruce’s fault.

That brought him to the last picture on his screen. Technically it hadn’t belonged in the file with the other two; he had pulled it up in order to contemplate them as a group. After the information he received earlier he was reevaluating many of the things he thought he knew about the trio. For instance, he had never thought to put them together before. He had trusted that the situation would never escalate that far. He had made a mistake. Now he had to plan for an eventuality that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The eyes of Supergirl stared down at him, accusing and angry. She was only a teenager if one ignored the years she spent in suspended animation – too easy to sway one way or another. She never should have met Jason and Roy, never should have been given the chance to work with either of them. Somehow, somewhere along the line she had been convinced that going with them was her only option. Bruce had trusted that Clark was handling connecting with his cousin and integrating her into life on Earth. He had wanted to trust that Clark could care for one of the only family members he had left, but that trust had proved ill-placed.

Bruce should have intervened. He should have said or done something to let Supergirl know she was not alone. She was only a teenager and she lost literally everything she knew and loved; of course she was angry and hurt. Clark was a good man, but he was a man who had suffered no real tragedy in his life beyond the untimely death of his father. He had been raised in a loving, accepting home with both parents until he was eighteen. His childhood was relatively normal by Earth standards and he received a good education. The biggest thing that ever happened to him was finding out he was an alien and had superpowers, but by the time he left home it was just a fact of life for Clark. For all intents and purposes he was a normal, well-adjusted, and happy adult.

Kara was a teenager that spent her childhood in a world of civil war and fear. She lived and breathed with the knowledge that the next moment could be her last and there was no time for feelings and friends. People lived and died every day – sometimes they were people you knew and sometimes they weren’t. Getting attached wasn’t an option, merely cold logic and courage in the face of fear. Her family probably wasn’t warm and loving, but it was her family none-the-less. They were the people she had known her whole life; they were her world.

Then she lost it all.

Supergirl had the makings of a fantastic future. Some of the greatest heroes were born and raised by suffering. They learned first-hand how dark and tragic life could be and they either rose above it or sank into the shadows. When Kara had first come to Earth Bruce had been hopeful she could be taught to be a light to guide others. He had seen in her the desire to do good and the need to stop suffering. Those were dangerous hopes; ones that could be manipulated easily by the right people. Clark had said he would do right by his cousin and bring her to the side of justice. Bruce had trusted him then. He regretted that trust now. He should have gone to her himself. Clark just couldn’t understand her, but maybe Bruce could have.

He opened a new window and clicked the only file it contained. A new screen popped up and loaded the contents – a small video that lasted only thirty seconds – and began to play. 

It was footage from a security camera that originated from a small town in France. Five armed gunmen were holding up the jewelry store across the street and threatening to shoot a young woman and her child. People were running, screaming – panicking. Just as one of the gunmen raised his weapon to fire the gun was shot from off screen. The man stumbled back, screaming silently. Red Hood and Arsenal dropped onto the screen and engaged the other gunmen. The mother and child stumbled away.

A figure dropped into the middle of the fight. The fighting stopped as the gunmen – only two now, two of the three others having been killed and the third nursing his bleeding hand – stared at the intimidating figure before them. The red and blue uniform said everything – he didn’t have to see the “S” to know who it was. The camera was nearly blinded by a flash of light. Bruce watched with hands clenched as the two gunmen dropped to the ground, dead. They both had holes burned into their chests right where their hearts had beat moments before. Supergirl’s eyes were still tinged red as she turned and spotted the camera. Her eyes flared crimson once more, another flash of light flared over the lens, and then the feed ended.

Bruce let out a heavy sigh. As much as he wanted to blame Supergirl for poor choices he knew she couldn’t bear the brunt of the burden. Some of it had to be laid in the laps of those who deserved it – namely himself and Clark. Supergirl had simply lost her way and found like-minded individuals that made her feel safe. Jason would take care of her, he knew that much. He may hate Bruce, but he took care of the people he considered his. Now that Kara was working with him she was one of “his” people. 

It was that fact, however, that kept Bruce from resting. Jason was sick – there was no hiding or questioning it anymore. He was ill and he tended to make the people around him ill as well. He was unpredictable, moody, and impulsive. Some of the places Jason went were dark and he was charismatic enough to gather people willing to follow him into that darkness. If he was leading Supergirl down the path of a killer…

The computer chimed. A message from Dick popped up on the screen – he was going home for the night, the lead having proved to be useless. They would have to start over in the morning and rethink their direction. Perhaps they were missing a piece of information?

Bruce heaved another sigh and saved his work. The computer asked him for confirmation. He hesitated for a moment. Did he really want to damn a girl who might need rescuing more than anyone else? Could he really do that to her?

His eyes wandered. They landed on the window that had played the security footage. It was dark now but the image of Supergirl killing two men armed or not was forever burned into his mind. So much power, so much potential, so much pain – it was all being directed into anger and hatred. He made up his mind. The confirmation was accepted and computer beeped as it closed the files and displayed his changes.

Files Updated: SUPERGIRL, OUTLAWS

A moment later the console embedded in his gauntlet beeped as it received the updated files. The same message appeared on his screen briefly, and then dismissed itself. Bruce stared at the small screen silently, a hollow feeling settling in his chest. Another person who needed him, failed. The list was starting to get uncomfortably long.

His earpiece crackled. Dick’s voice came through, outraged.

“You can’t be serious, Bruce!”

He didn’t have the energy to chide his oldest about using names on a line that may not be secure. Pressing that button had drained so much from him. In a way it was one of the hardest things he had ever done.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Bruce answered, “There’s security footage, Nightwing.”

The other end of the line was quiet. He supposed he should be happy it was just Dick arguing with him at the moment. The real battle would come in the morning, when the Watchtower’s databases would be updated with the new files and the entire League saw the changes. Clark was going to be furious. He was also going to be heartbroken once he saw the footage, but maybe it would be the wakeup call that came too late. Kara wasn’t just treading on thin ice; she had fallen through and drowned the moment she used her powers against those men. As far as he was concerned she was now a danger to them all.

“Kori left, maybe Kara can, too?” Dick said hopefully.

God Bruce hoped so, but, “Kori never killed anyone, Dick.”

Dick fell silent. As silent as Bruce had been when Clark had offered to try talking to Kara - as silent as Bruce had stayed, even as he saw the signs of disaster heading his way. It was the silence that had damned them all.


End file.
